Loom-picker.



, No. 781,350. PATENTED JAN. 31, 1905.

T. e. MOsBR. LOOM PIGKER.

APPLICATION FILED BBPT 18, 1903.

UNITED STATES Patented January 31, 1905.1

"PATENT OF ICE.

v THOMAS G. MOSER, BURLINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ROBERT F. RICE, OF GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA.

LOOM-PIGKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 781,350, dated'J'anuary 31, 1905.

Application filed September 18, 1903- Serial No. 173,721. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THoMAs G. MOSER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Burlington, in the county of Alamance and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and useful Loom-Picker, of which the following i sa stick, and thus lengthen the life of both the picker and the stick.

A further object of the invention is to prevent spreadingor breaking of the picker at 1 a suitable opening for the handle of the pickerthe point where it engages the nose of the shuttle.

With these and other objects in view, as will hereinafter more fully appear, the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in form, proportions, size, and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantagesof the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a perspective view of a loom-picker constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional elevation of the same on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of the device on the line 8 3 of Fig. 2.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In loom-pickers as generally constructed a strip of rawhide is coiled in volute form for engagement with the nose of the shuttle, and

a plurality of sheets or layers of the hide are riveted together,and through these is formed stick. As a rule it is necessary to place rivets at each side of the opening orin line with the plane of movement of the-picl er-stick,and after a short time the stick will wear away the leather or hide and come into contact with the rivet. When this occurs, the rivet is driven to the outer edge of the picker, and constant engagement of the stick with the rivet destroys the former and renders it necessary to replace both picker and stick. A further objection to these devices as ordina- -rily constructed is that the frequent blows on the'no'se of the shuttle tends to spread the layers of hide and the picker soon becomes inoperative. To overcome these objections and to construct a picker that will remain in working order for a considerable period of time, v I provide suitable guards and wear-plates at the points where the picker is most likely to wear.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a picker formed of a number of layers of rawhide united by rivets 2, and at the circular portions or head-plug 3,which strikes against the nose of the shuttle, the hide is coiled in a V0- lute form in the usual manner. From constant use the headplug has a tendency to spread,

and in the present instance this is guarded against by providing a shield 3, formed of a strip of metal or other suitable material, that snugly embraces the head-plug, the edges of the sheet being continued up somewhat above the juncture of the-head with the body portion and rivets 4: being passed through both the shield and the rawhide body. This is found effectual in preventing the'spreading of the.

secure the clips and the different layers of the body portion in position, rivets 6 arepassed through suitable openings formed in the end portions of the clip and the picker, and the clip therefore forms a washer, against which the ends of the rivets may be upset in addition to its employment as a guard or wear-plate and as a clamp for holding the layers of the picker in place.

By presenting a metallic surface for the picker-stick to operate upon it is found that the stick will last for a much longer period of time than when it strikes against the rawhide body. This is due to the fact that the whole of the vertical wall of the stick comes into engagement with the guard, and the latter presents a smooth surface, so that the strain is evenly distributed throughout the thickness of the stick, while in the use of a stick in the usual manner the rawhide will wear away either at the top or bottom of the wall and the force of the blow will not be evenly distributed. On examining ordinary pickersticks and pickers that have been in use for a considerable length oftime it will be noted that the hide wears away unevenly and exposes only a portion of the surface of the rivet, so that during the operation of the pickerstiek aportion of its surface will strike against the metal of the rivet and the other portions Will strike against the rawhide. This uneven distribution of the blow soon causes the pickerstick to wear away and break or crack and in the present case is prevented by distributing the force of the blow throughout the thickness of the stick.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In a loom-picker formed of rawhide or similar material and having its body portion provided with an approximately central picker-stic'k opening, a pair of U-shaped metallic clips having their central bars arranged at the end walls of the opening and forming wearplates for engagement by the picker-stick, the parallel arms of said clips serving as positive clamps and supports for the layers of rawhide and tending to hold the same in close engagement, and rivets extending through such parallel arms and the layers of rawhide, the arms serving also as washers against which the ends of the rivets may upset.

2. In a rawhide loom-picker including a head-plug, a guard formed of a strip of metal encircling the head, the length of the guard being less than the length of the head thereby to expose portions of the ends of said head and permit the spreading of the same independent of the guard.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aliixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS (Jr. MOSER. Vitnesses:

(J. L. ISLEY, R. O. SHARP. 

